Tag: cybersecurity

Professional Prep Academy offers virtual internships during and after the pandemic

Posted on by acte

In a time when in-person internships aren’t possible, virtual internships provide valuable, real-world experience from the safety of home.

The Professional Prep Academy (PPA), developed by Socratic Arts, offers a wide range of virtual internships to help students discover a career passion and learn life skills. Work-based learning forms the cornerstone of a quality career and technical education (CTE) program. And it’s too valuable to lose in the wake of COVID-19.

Virtual internships present realistic, mentored, learn-by-doing experiences that can be delivered 100% online or on a hybrid basis. And they are turnkey, meaning they require minimal school effort during the pandemic crisis. Virtual internships eliminate:

  • Recruiting and training employers for internships
  • Finding student transportation to and from work sites
  • Students potentially putting themselves at risk in face-to-face work situations
  • Students missing out due to socioeconomic hardships

Our story-centered approach makes the difference.

PPA virtual internships use a story-centered approach to learning that immerses students in real-life situations. They complete real work, on real deliverables, that have real impact. Students get to work alongside real professionals and get a taste of what their job actually entails.

Students play a central role working individually, or on a team, to achieve meaningful objectives over a series of tasks. Learners are expected to produce the same work product that professionals produce. Students are trained and assessed in vital 21st century employability skills:

  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Critical thinking
  • Creative problem-solving
  • Scientific reasoning
  • Self-directed learning
  • Research
  • Common workplace behaviors and values

PPA’s story-centered approach has been used successfully for more than 20 years, with more than 100,000 students at world-class universities, the U.S. government, and Fortune 100 companies around the world. Discover what a PPA virtual internship looks like.

What sets our internships apart?

  • Developed with extensive input from industry subject-matter experts
  • A rich and engaging story that mirrors real-world, work situations
  • Detailed employer information such as company policies and unspoken cultural factors important for students learning
  • A wide range of in-depth learning resources.
  • Expert mentors available to help, advise, and give feedback
  • Competency-based approach where mentors coach students until they master the knowledge and skills required by the current task before proceeding to the next

Skills training for in-demand careers

PPA offers virtual internships in five high-paying, high-demand career areas. By completing multiple programs in a related field, students can amass an impressive portfolio of work to showcase during job interviews.

Virtual internships include:

Cybersecurity

  • Insider Threat
  • Exploit a Website
  • Malicious Network Traffic
  • Remote Intrusion Attempt

 Data Analytics

  • Intro to Data Analytics: Machine Learning >amp; Sentiment Analysis
  • Machine Learning with Python

Entrepreneurship

  • Business Idea Workshop
  • Product/Service Definition
  • Think Like an Investor
  • Business Essentials
  • Write a Business Plan

Health Sciences

  • Internal Medicine
  • Forensic Detective
  • Mystery Diagnosis Case

Software Development

  • Intro to Website Development
  • Intro to JavaScript
  • Mobile Web App Development
  • Java 1
  • Java 2

PPA program requirements

PPA virtual internships involve solving complex problems, and it is for this reason that block schedules with class sessions of 80–90 minutes are required to allow for meaningful learning.

Students must have:

  • A total of 15 hours available per week, in and out of school
  • A minimum of 2.5 megabytes per second internet bandwidth — downloading and uploading — at school and home to support online video learning resources and Zoom meetings

About Socratic Arts

Socratic Arts has been a pioneer in learning since 1989. Led by artificial intelligence expert and visionary Dr. Roger Schank, Socratic Arts’ team of experienced instructional design and facilitation experts develop and deliver performance-improvement solutions to Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and post-secondary schools. Learn more.

Cybersecurity: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility!

Posted on by acte

With so many things connected to the internet, we all need to be aware of the dangers. More and more devices are connected to the internet all the time, which means more entry points and vulnerabilities. To secure the many “internet of things” (IoT) connected devices is a major cybersecurity challenge. A cyberattack can take down an entire organization. In fact, it can have a huge impact nationwide.

On a more personal level, even refrigerators can be hacked and used as a gateway into the network. If your smart watch is hacked, the hacker now knows your schedule for that day and when your home may be vulnerable. In one instance, an internet-connected fish tank was the entry point that led to a cyberattack.

“For careless operators, an IoT-connected device could lead to breaches bigger and more invasive than we’ve ever seen.” –Naresh Persaud, senior director of security at CA Technologies

The IT security classes offered at West-MEC in Phoenix, Arizona, provide students with an opportunity to learn how to secure computer networks and manage risk. Students who are enrolled in this career and technical education program learn ethical hacking defense, troubleshooting and how to mitigate security risks.

This year Bradley Whitaker, one of West-MEC’s IT Security instructors, hosted an event to help bring awareness to the public about potential vulnerabilities and how to avoid becoming a victim of a cybersecurity attack.

After The Evening of Cybersecurity event, Anthony Aranda, an IT security student, shared his thoughts on the event and why it mattered.

  1. Can you tell me more about The Evening of Cybersecurity?
    The Evening of Cybersecurity included a four-hour presentation on many topics that the IT security students learn during their time in this program. The event allowed students to educate the general public about what we are learning in our program at West-MEC, and on topics that can help the general public. Mr. Whitaker provided valuable support, though the event was planned and run by SkillsUSA students and those enrolled in the IT security class.
  2. How did The Evening of Cyber Security get its start?
    The Evening of Cyber Security started as an idea to get ourselves out there and let the public understand exactly what our program is and what it is about. This is the first year I have taken place in this event, but this is the second year that we have held this event.
  3. What were some highlights from this year’s event?
    The event began with a guest speaker, John McMillin, who worked in cyber defense in the U.S. Army. He talked about protecting our critical infrastructure and of its importance for the future. From there the students led the crowd to each student presentation where we discussed topics such as the anatomy of a computer, physical computer maintenance, live hacking/CTF, basic network configuration, staying safe online, OS optimization and maintenance, and cyber warfare and cyberattacks.
  4. What sparked your interest in cybersecurity?
    Personally, what sparked my interest in cybersecurity is the whole concept of it all. I love the idea of helping protect people while also preventing others from doing things they shouldn’t be doing. Cybersecurity is a very technical topic but it is also very interesting and can be really fun.
  5. Do you plan to pursue a career in cybersecurity?
    I would love to pursue a career in cybersecurity. Not only is the entire field very interesting and opens a lot of opportunities, the pay is also very good.
  6. What is your biggest takeaway from being enrolled in this program and how will this class contribute to future successes in your life?
    I considered myself knowledgeable with computers before but, as soon as I started at West-MEC, I learned so much more information. I have learned how to build, take care of, run, and troubleshoot computers with many Windows operating systems. This class will definitely contribute to my life as I have already earned my first industry certification and the year isn’t even over.

Rachael Mann speaks about the future of work and how educators can equip students for projected changes in the world around us. She is the director of professional development for West-MEC in Phoenix, Arizona, and coauthor of The Martians in Your Classroom. Contact Rachael to learn how you can create future-ready learning spaces in career and technical education.

Interested in learning more about a career in cybersecurity? Check out a CTE program near you!